It’s always a bit of a controversial question that never fails to invite strong, polarizing and sometimes prejudiced opinions: Which city is the best travel destination in the world?

According to Condé Nast Traveller’s 16th annual Readers’ Travel Awards, that city is New York, which bested Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Venice as the most popular overseas city.

The assets that gave the Big Apple its leading edge? A pulsing nightlife and the diversity of its top notch accommodations.

In other categories, Sydney was named the friendliest city, while predictably, Paris and Venice were named tops for culture-soaked vacations.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, respondents in another wide-sweeping biennial survey from Anholt-GfK City Brands Index named London the world’s best city, toppling Paris from its top perch two years ago.

More than 5,140 participants around the world were asked to evaluate cities in categories such as international status, esthetic, affordability and culture. After London, the cities that boasted sterling reputations among respondents around the world were Sydney, Paris, New York and Rome.

Here are the top 10 cities from CN Traveller’s Readers’ Travel Awards 2013: